# Lightbox

URL: https://gutenslider.org/docs/lightbox/
Updated: 2026-10-12

> Gutenslider’s lightbox: turn it on, pick a light or dark look, the Pro options (thumbnails, zoom, captions, colors), and what changed with the native lightbox in 7.0.

With the lightbox on, a click on a slide’s image makes it grow out of its place into a large view over the page. Visitors page through all images of the slider there. The lightbox is in the free plugin; Pro adds options.

### Turn it on

Select the slider and turn on **Open images and videos in a lightbox** in its settings, then choose a ** Light** or ** Dark** look. It works in both content modes and for any number of slides in view; it suits carousels best. Slides that have a link open the link instead. Try it on the [carousel example](https://gutenslider.org/examples/#carousel).

### In the lightbox

- Arrows, arrow keys and swipe move between images; Esc or the close button closes it and returns the focus to the slide.
- A counter shows the position, such as “3 / 12”.
- Videos from video slides play in the lightbox too.
- With “reduce motion” turned on, the lightbox opens without the growing animation.

### Pro options

| Setting | What it does | Default |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Opening | *Grow* out of the clicked slide, or *Fade* in. | Grow |
| Heading | The image’s title, caption, description or alternative text from the Media Library, or nothing. | Nothing |
| Text | The same choice for the text under the heading. | Nothing |
| Counter | Turn the “3 / 12” counter off. | On |
| Thumbnails | A row of small images to jump to any slide. | On |
| Zoom button and zoom cursor | Zoom into the image for details. | Off |
| Colors | Your own background and text colors instead of the light or dark look. | Light |

### What changed in 7.0

Up to 6.x the lightbox was lightGallery, a separate library and a Pro feature. 7.0 uses a lightbox built on the browser’s own `<dialog>` element: less code to load (it loads only when a slider has the lightbox on), focus handled by the browser, and no third-party license. It is free now; its options stay in Pro. Your saved settings (lightbox on, title and caption source, colors, thumbnails, counter, zoom) carry over; lightGallery’s transition setting is no longer used.

If a Pro license ends, sliders keep their lightbox and the options saved with it.